Welcome Break Rotherham has been voted the UK’s best motorway services for 2026, beating 122 other locations across the country.
Research by independent watchdog Transport Focus saw some 37,000 visitors to motorway services rate their experiences.
Opened in January 2025 and based around the idea of a Yorkshire village, Welcome Break’s Rotherham site topped the charts with a 99 percent satisfaction rating.
This means almost every visitor to the service station, located at Junction 33 on the M1, left feeling either ‘fairly satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’.
Waitrose, KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme and Pret A Manger were just some of the food and coffee options helping Rotherham to claim first place.
Two-time winner Moto Rugby in Warwickshire took second place in this year’s survey, with Moto Sawtry services completing the podium.
Work still needed on accessibility
The Transport Focus Motorway Services User Survey covered a wide array of topics, asking visitors about toilets, accessibility, food and drink, facilities for HGV drivers and electric vehicle (EV) charging options.
Toilet facilities are one of the most important factors to determine a positive motorway services experience, according to Transport Focus. Across all locations, visitors reported a 92 percent satisfaction level when nipping to the loo.
There is still work to be done on accessible facilities, though, with only 75 percent of visitors satisfied. This represents an improvement from 66 percent when the survey was previously conducted in 2023, however.
Electric vehicle charging is of growing importance for motorway drivers, too. The proportion of visitors who charged an EV while stopped at a services has doubled since 2023, up from four percent to eight percent.
Overall, 84 percent of EV drivers were satisfied with the motorway services charging experience. However, only 58 percent of users rated motorway charging as good value for money, reflecting the higher prices paid for access to public devices.
EV chargers a growing priority
Roadchef’s Watford Gap facility, located on the northbound stretch of the M1, came in last place of all the service stations analysed. Not even a recently opened Pret a Manger could save it from being bottom of the pile, with an 86 percent satisfaction score.
Four of the five service stations at the bottom of the list belong to Roadchef, including the southbound M1 Watford Gap site.
Louise Collins, director at Transport Focus, said: “Motorway services have improved significantly over the years, and road users are seeing the benefit. A good stop can make a real difference to a journey, helping people get back on the road feeling better than when they arrived. Rotherham’s debut at the top of the table and the turnaround at Hartshead Moor Eastbound show what good services can offer.
“We’ve also seen real progress on accessibility. It shows what can be achieved when the industry recognises an issue and works together to tackle it. There is still more to do, including on car parking, wayfinding and facilities for HGV drivers, and our survey will help us track progress in these areas in the years ahead.”
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